The Soldier
by TargetDummy
Summary: This is a spinoff of PriscillaRouge's "The Maid." It chronicles the life of Sonic in the Mobius civil war. Mainly an adventure tale, but with a few nods to the romance of the original story. T for violence and minor swear words.
1. This is War

_**So here it is, chapter one of my first story. This is a spinoff of Priscillarouge's "The Maid" which tells us what goes on with Sonic after he left the town that Amy was in (chapter 7). I like to call it "The Soldier."** **Let it be known that I'm not the greatest writer, but I'm trying :P. Oh, yes, and the reader may want to know that it begins in flashback, to fully explain how this war started.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1, This is War.<strong>

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><p><em>The door to the Central Mobius council hall was forced open by a frantic soldier. The impossible had happened that night, and yet the havoc had only begun. His clothes torn, mind racing, and heart pounding, he ran to find any sort of guidance. He found a young servant, a wolf, and quickly interrogated him.<em>

_"Quickly!" the soldier yelled at the butler. "Where is Vice President Allen?"_

_"I believe he is in his office sir, down to the right," the servant answered confusedly, "what seems to be so urgent?"_

_The soldier, without answering, dashed off to the right corridor. His mission was too urgent to explain to every soul which crossed his path. At the end of the painstakingly long hallway was a door labeled 'VP ALLEN WARD: KNOCK FIRST.' The guard forced the door open, easily ignoring the insignificant message printed upon it. Inside was Allen himself, a wise fox aged about 30 Mobian rotations._

_"Can you not knock, good sir?" the vice president remarked as he watched the panting guard step into his office._

_"My apologies, Sir Allen," the soldier began his message through heavy breaths, "but I bear a message of utmost urgency."_

_"Very well, but I do not see what can be so urgent as to-" Allen continued until he was cut off by the soldier._

_"Our leader, Sir Arthur Rose," the troop panted, "has been... murdered."_

_"What! How could this have happened! He was only going to a peaceful, diplomatic meeting! How! Why!" the vice president stammered in shock._

_"The meeting went without issue," the soldier explained, "it was the journey back that led to the late leader's death. We were just on the outskirts of town here and we were ambushed by... rebel forces."_

_"The Rebellion!" the vice president yelled in anger and confusion._

_"Yes, and they were too much for us. A mere wagon of governors and three guards was not enough to take on the forces that they had built against us. I advised that all passengers stay in the wagon until we were safely inside the city, but Mr. Rose wouldn't be satisfied until he had taken the lives of those damn devils. Just as he was succeeding in his mission too, he was shot once in the chest. Then, as he knelt on the ground in pain, he was shot again... in the head," the soldier related, shivering at the thought of the scene. "We honestly tried, sir, but they were overwhelming in numbers. I helped to drag his body into the wagon and I was then sent to convey this message to you, sir."_

_"No..." Sir Allen stated grimly, shaking his head. "This cannot be, yet it is. Those damned rebel soldiers! Not only must they refuse to allow government to survive, they take the lives of those involved as well! Have they no honor?" He suddenly regained his composure. "Quickly, soldier! Order the servants to gather all members of council and military leadership! A meeting must be held as soon as possible. Go now! There is no time to waste!"_

_"Please, everyone!" the vice president yelled over the roar of conversations in the Council auditorium. "Silence! We need silence before any sort of meeting may commence!" Soon enough, the room of officials hushed in unison._

_"Thank you," Sir Allen said, annoyed, "now we may begin. I'm sure that plenty of you know by now, through the gossip of the town, that our leader, Sir Arthur Rose, has been killed. The murderers are, without a single doubt, soldiers of the Rebellion. That is what we have come to discuss at this meeting." He looked over the room of worried faces before continuing. "It is at this meeting that we shall begin to make arrangements to begin taking forceful, violent, military action against and any individuals who have been involved in the Rebellion organization."_

_Pounding his fist on the table in front of him, General Jules Hedgehog, father of Sonic, stood and gave his thoughts on the current situation. "This is exactly why we should have taken military action months ago, as soon as those self-righteous scoundrels stopped paying their taxes! This whole bloody disaster could have been avoided!" he yelled._

_"Now hold on a minute," another member of the council interjected, "is there any proof that the Rebellion army had anything to do with this crime? I believe that you may very well be using this as an excuse to violently attack them! This is the exact reason that Mr. Stevens left the council to support their protest. They wouldn't do a thing such as this!"_

_"Who else could've done it!" the hedgehog general fired back. "Random thieves and troublemakers wouldn't be so bold as to kill the planetary ruler!"_

_"Silence!" This was beginning to be too much for the vice president. "At this point, we must assume that the perpetrators were indeed associated with the Rebellion forces. Therefore, if you cannot support the council's actions at this time, you are hereby considered an enemy and threat to public safety." He shot a vengeful glare at the council member who attempted to defend the rebel organization._

That was how it all started, and now Sonic was suffering for it. '_If only those rebels would've done what they were told,_' Sonic thought as he got on his horse to ride out of Riven, the town in which Amy was staying with Shadow. He really couldn't bear to be away from her without knowing what was going on with her and that... traitor. He had to though, he was a dog of the military and had to obey all orders given to him.

"Where are we supposed to be going anyway?" Sonic asked his father.

"God, don't you ever read the mission briefing?" his father answered in disgust.

"Why bother? It'll only waste time that I could spend actually doing the mission."

"Alright," his father sighed, pulling a text from his pocket and focusing his eyes on it, "we are heading north."

"A little more specific, please?" Sonic answered in a smart aleck tone.

"We're heading to the town of Uru. It's about a, oh, six hour trip on horseback. That's not including stopping for lunch of course."

"Great," Sonic scoffed sarcastically, "more time wasted. Why can't I just run there?"

"Because not all of us are as fast as you, Sonic."

Sonic's squadron consisted of 12 soldiers in total, including he and his father. By order of rank, there was the two of them, two artillery men (each armed with their own cannon), three snipers (armed with... sniper rifles of course), and five cavalry men (armed with pistols and swords).

The trail to Uru was a daunting one, to say the least. It wound through many of Mobius's beautiful forests as well as the darker ones. It reminded Sonic a lot of when he was younger. It was a much happier time, a time when Sonic was too young to care about any of the politics or worries concerning the grown-up world around him. Then, all of the sudden it just disappeared.

When he was only fourteen he was drafted into the United Mobius Military with his father. That was the time of the Opening Conspiracy war. He never really understood why that was what they called it, but it didn't really matter. What did matter was the way that the war changed him. It made him a lot more serious than he ever was. It showed what it was like to fight for a life, as well as ending those of others. To draw blood... it was all normal to him now. Not to mention hate. He was really feeling that at this time.

"Hm," his father grunted, looking at the trees that surrounded them, "I think we can stop here to eat." All of the soldiers agreed and made several remarks about how hungry they were. Although it wasn't exactly a five star meal, in fact it was just salad, bread, and fruit, they were grateful for it.

"So," a soldier spoke aloud, attempting to make decent conversation, "has anyone heard the joke about the girls in Ur-" BANG! The soldier was suddenly shot in the head! After quickly recovering from the shock, the group drew their swords and started looking for the hidden attacker.

"The hell?" Sonic exclaimed under his breath as he drew his rapier as well. It was a nice, long, sharp sword that he received as a gift for his sixteenth birthday. The hilt was made of pure gold and had a single blue gem embedded within it.

"I heard that joke before," an unidentifiable voice proclaimed, "it's not that funny, so you aren't missing out on much."

"Show yourself!" Sonic's father yelled.

"Uh, I'm right here, in plain sight. Idiots." said the voice again which was now easily found. Leaning on a tree was the speaker, an odd half-wolf half-weasel creature. He was wearing a brown stetson hat and holding a modified pistol in his leather glove. He also had one canine tooth that was greatly larger than the other on one side. He then scanned the soldiers with a confused smile. "Why would you draw your swords when a guy got shot? Do you plan on stabbing the bullets?"

"What do you want?" Sonic's father asked the assassin. "Are you part of them? The Rebellious ones?"

"The Rebels? Yes, yes I am. Don't worry though, I'm not gonna kill anybody else. If you don't mind that we take some of your supplies, that is."

"Hah!" Sonic laughed. "Do you really think you're in the position to make negotiations? There's still eleven of us left and only one of you. No matter how good of a shot you are, you have to admit that the odds are definitely in our favor."

The weasel only shook his head and smiled. "That may be how it looks, pal, but I actually have exactly 23 snipers hidden in the trees around you. So, actually the odds are a bit more than fifty percent in _my _favor."

"He's bluffing!" Sonic yelled in hopes of keeping his worried soldiers calm.

"Okay, if you really need proof," the weasel sighed. He then raised one of his hands in the air and made an odd gesture with it. Suddenly, a gunshot rang from the trees and another soldier of the High Council was shot.

'_Dammit!'_ Sonic thought. _'This nut case is serious! What are we going to do?'_

"So? You willin' to negotiate now?" the weasel asked again.

"Frankly I think that's a pretty cheap victory, buddy," Sonic commented, mocking the weasel. He now had a plan with a thirty percent chance of success. "How about we settle this like men, er, mammals."

The weasel pondered this for a moment. He then smiled and said, "A mono y mono challenge, eh? Sure, I got time to play. I get to pick the game though, y'know. Seein' as you're not in a position to make negotiations."

"Whatever you say," Sonic accepted happily.

"Alright, let's have a shootout. I call off my men and you call off yours alright?" the weasel stated.

Sonic nodded and gestured for the soldiers to clear out of the way. The weasel followed in this fashion, took off his gloves, and commanded his troops to hold fire. He then walked over to Sonic to explain the rules.

"Okay, so here's how we're going to do this. We're gonna stand back to back then take ten steps away from each other. As soon as the tenth pace hits the ground, I'll yell 'draw.' Then, you draw your gun from your holster, turn around, and try to take a potshot at me. Whoever gets shot has to surrender. And no cheatin' or I'll have my men shoot each of your quills off one by one! Any questions?"

"Just one," Sonic replied, "I like to know the name of a guy before we agree to play a game."

"Alright," the weasel complied, "I'm Nack, but most people call me Fang. Fang the Sniper. I already know who you are though, veteran Sonic." Sonic nodded and the two opponents went back to back as planned. "One," Fang began counting as they both took a step.

'_What am I going to do? I'm only stalling for time at this point,' _Sonic's mind raced.

"Two," Fang went on.

'_I'm not nearly as good of a shot as this guy is! I'm more of a sword fighter,' _his thoughts continued in a frenzy.

"Three, four,"

_'Oh man, there's nothing I can do at this point but try!'_

"Five, six, seven,"

'_God,' _Sonic started a rushed prayer as he began reaching for his gun slowly, _'if I don't make it through this, let Amy know... that I'm sorry.'_

_ "_Eight, nine, draw!" BANG!

A single shot was fired... and someone fell to the ground.

Luckily, it was Fang who was shot. The soldiers were stunned once again! They were frozen in amazement until one of them finally started to freak out.

"Wait a minute," a soldier noted, "Sonic didn't shoot him! He's still turned around! That means... one of us cheated! Oh, we're screwed! The snipers! Oh god! Oh god!"

"Calm down," a new unidentifiable voice spoke flatly. It was heard over near a bunch of bushes. Out of them stepped a purple chameleon. "There are no snipers," he explained.

"What?" Sonic's father stuttered in confusion. "How did he shoot that soldier then? Witchcraft?"

"No, just technology," the chameleon explained, "you see that glove? The one that he gestured with? On each finger he has several, nearly invisible, threads tied. Each thread is connected to the trigger of a gun in the trees above us. Sonic was smart to get him to take it off, otherwise you may have all died if I shot him."

"That's incredible craftsmanship!" the hedgehog general remarked.

"Yeah, Fang's smart in a technological sense, but he's too arrogant to say no to a challenge," the chameleon admitted. Just then, Fang started to squirm to get up again. Sonic quickly tackled him.

"Thanks for the help," Sonic said to the chameleon as he sat on top of the struggling weasel, "but who are you?"

"I'm Espio, an undercover soldier for the Council's army. I work to take down rebel bounty hunters like this guy. Apparently they're offering a lot of money to whoever can get you and your father dead, Sonic."

"Ha, they think I'm pretty special I suppose," Sonic joked. "Well, I think I can take them on, especially if they're all as bright as this guy," he gestured to Fang beneath him.

The group then, with the help of Espio, apprehended the assassin and went back on their way to the small town of Uru. They had to skip lunch though, as they were behind schedule. The town of Uru was small and quaint. It was mainly a farming town, filled with simple and kind folk. Espio worked to get Fang into the local jail until they were approved to transport him to a council court for prosecution. Upon arriving at the camp where the soldiers were staying, Sonic finally got a bit more interested in the mission.

"So, what are we going to do here?" he asked his father as they were eating dinner.

"Well, in one week we're going off to attack a rebel camp that our spies found not too far from here," his father explained through slurps of soup.

"Oh, okay, but why wait a week?" Sonic questioned.

"Sonic, we lost two soldiers just getting here," his father stated in an annoyed tone, "what chance do we have against a camp of those types? We're waiting here until reinforcements arrive."

'_A whole extra week away from her, that's just great,' _Sonic thought sarcastically. He then excused himself from the meal and went to his quarters where he would be resting for the night. He grabbed a book off the dusty shelf in the corner and tried reading it to get his mind off of things. It didn't work, especially when it was a romance novel. He then tried to just lay down. This was working well, until he heard a knock at the door.

"Mail's here," the guy at the door yelled. Sonic answered it and saw a familiar face. It was Knuckles the Echidna, his mailman and good friend since his school years.

"Hey Knuckles," Sonic smiled, "any mail?"

"Just a letter to your father," Knucles stated as he handed Sonic the envelope. Sonic was disappointed, as if he expected her to send him something after what he did. "How goes the battle?"

"Oh, not much of a battle yet. We're heading to attack some camp tomorrow," Sonic informed his friend.

"Well, don't show those rebels any mercy. If they really needed money they could've come to work on the pony express like me. I'm swamped with letters and packages to soldiers. Speaking of which, do you have anything for me to send?"

Sonic pondered this for a moment. _'Why bother? It's not like writing some pansy letter will save her from Shadow,' _he thought. "No, nothing."

"Okay then," Knuckles stated as he started to walk away, but then he stopped and pulled something out of his pocket, "ah, I forgot about this. It's from Sonia, but she said to only give it to you and not tell your father. She gave me a tip for keeping it secret." Knuckles handed the excited hedgehog the envelope and continued on his way.

Upon opening it, Sonic found a note and a picture. He read the note first. It said, 'Hey bro, I had one of my friends in Riven do a bit of spying for you :). She got out her parents' fancy new camera and took this picture of Amy in the town market. -Sonia'

He then looked at the picture of Amy. Even in black and white she was as beautiful as ever, smiling warmly and holding a sack of vegetables. He then gripped it tightly, remembering that she was with Shadow and he was able to do nothing about it.

"I'm going to enjoy shooting the hell out of those rebels..."


	2. Boom!

_**Alright, so here's the second chapter! Thank you, anyone who's read so far, and feel free to review as I like feedback and ideas.** **I like to know how I'm doing to make sure I'm not entirely screwing a story up. Also, as I'm sure you know, this is a spinoff of Priscilla Rouge's "The Maid" and you should really ****read that if you haven't, because it really explains the story. Not to mention, it's a really good story so far :D But, you should read mine too! Please? Anybody?**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<br>Boom!**

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><p><em>There he was, in a field of flowers with his one and only true love. They stood there, holding hands and looking at one another. Her emerald eyes were stunning, her smile so warm. In all her beauty she stood, putting the flowers to shame. "Sonic... do you really love me?" she wispered.<em>

"Sonic,"

_"Of course," the blue hedgehog reassured his love. Then, the sky started to turn dark._

"Hey, Sonic,"

_"Then why couldn't you be there?" she asked him as the scene began to unfold around them. "When I needed you." The ground started to crumble and the flowers began to wilt._

"C'mon! Sonic!"

_"I'm sorry!" he yelled. "I just couldn't! My parents! You just have to believe me!" He then reached out to grab her as the universe as he could see it began to fade away. With a single tear, she turned to dust in his hands and blew away with a deaf wind into a void of darkness._

"Dammit Sonic, this is serious!"

"Gah! No! I'm sorry!" Sonic yelled as he awoke from his nightmare. He soon recovered from his fears and looked around at the scene before him. He was back in his bunk room in Uru, laying in bed with the sheets nearly torn from his frantic struggle. In the chair next to his bed sat his comrade, Espio the chameleon.

"Don't be sorry, just get up. Something bad has happened and we're going to need you," Espio explained, as calm and collect as always.

"What? At this time of night?" Sonic sat up, confused. It had been six days since they arrived at Uru. The troops had regrouped and now had a total head count of about thirty. They were planning on attacking the nearby rebel camp on the seventh day, i.e. the next morning.

"Yes," Espio bagan softly, like a doctor about to announce that a patient was about to die. "You see, the prison, there's been a breakout."

"What? How is that possible?" Sonic cried.

"Well, we're not entirely sure, but I have a theory. I was awake with a few other soldiers, hanging out at the local tavern. We all heard a sound, like an explosion, coming from the jail. When we got there, a guard was lying on the ground... with one of his arms entirely blown off. One cell door was completely broken, and the others were unlocked. I think it was that Fang character. He must have kept some thread, matches, and gunpowder in his boots. He used these materials to literally blow the cell door off. This explosion injured the guard in the chair in front of him. He then took the keys and released the other imprisoned rebel soldiers. Now there's about twenty of them running loose!"

"What are we going to do? Did you wake up my father?" Sonic asked as he got out of his bed.

"Yes, I woke him and he's already got some soldiers on watch. What I need you to do is get dressed and meet me outside, got that? Don't forget your gun and sword," the chameleon commanded.

"Yeah, okay," Sonic complied. Espio walked out the door, allowing Sonic to get ready. "This is insane," he muttered to himself. He didn't expect all this madness when he was told he was just going to take down a small rebel camp. Sonic dressed himself in his blue uniform and grabbed his gold-hilted sword off of his small wooden desk. He grabbed his pistol off the coffee table where he had left it after training. He was just about to step out when he remembered something. He snagged the picture of Amy from underneath his pillow.

Upon stepping out the door, Sonic saw the impatient chameleon. "Alright, let's go," Epsio ordered.

"Go? I thought we were just going to patrol the area for rebels," Sonic said, confused.

"No, that's what the other soldiers are going to do," Espio explained with a hint of annoyance, "we have a much more important mission."

"But we've got to catch them," Sonic interjected.

"Sonic, that's pointless," Espio began. "You see, by now at least ten of them have made their way back to the camp. To find any others will be a bonus, at most. So, knowing that they have made it back to their base, one may easily assume that they're going to have a meeting where they will discuss how they plan to fight us tomorrow. That's where we come in, you see? We are going to spy on this meeting, so we may plan as well. Got that?"

"Sure, I suppose," the hedgehog agreed.

"Alright then, follow close and stay quiet," Espio commanded. Sonic followed these orders and trailed Espio into a dense forest. Despite the leaves and twigs crunching beneath their feet, they stepped quietly to avoid any possible sound to anyone nearby. The beautiful blend of colors in the leaves reminded Sonic of his hometown, Central Mobius. It specifically reminded him of the fields where he used to meet Amy. There she was in his mind again, impossible to forget. Her beautiful eyes, warm smile...

"Ouch!" sonic hissed as a branch poked him in the eye.

"Shut up," Espio whispered, not noticing Sonic's pain. "I think I see a clearing up ahead." The two of them maneuvered through the trees and came upon a valley. There were two hills of equal height and a not-so-steep indentation between them. It was the middle point between the town of Uru and the rebel camp. They ran down the one side and trudged up the other. At the other side was a trail.

The two of them followed the trail until they arrived at another valley. Except, at the bottom of this one there was a large fort surrounded by high wooden walls. It was the rebel camp.

"What's the plan then?" Sonic asked as they overlooked the camp.

"Well, if you're as agile as I am, we may be able to climb the walls," Espio examined.

"Alright," Sonic agreed. They then made their way down the valley to the wall of the camp. They each grabbed hold of the ropes binding the wall's logs and began scaling the structure. It was a rigorous climb, but they eventually made it to the top, Espio being the first one up.

"Okay, so there are two campfires that I can see. I'm assuming that the meetings must be taking place at those. You spy on the one to the west, I've got the eastern one," the chameleon told his comrade.

Sonic nodded and started climbing down to the western side of the camp. He made his way to the ground and walked cautiously to the campfire that Espio gestured to. When he finally made it there, he witnessed a circle of rebel soldiers standing around a campfire. In the center of the circle, in front of the fire, was Fang. The weasel raised his arms and began his speech.

"Everybody here?" he began. "Everyone? Jim, Karl, Leo, Bean, Sam, and..." his face broke into an evil, twisted smile before saying the next name, "Sonic?" Sonic gasped and quickly withdrew to escape, but he was soon stopped by a rebel soldier standing behind him. The soldier grabbed sonic by the neck, lifted him, and brought him to Fang. "Go ahead and drop him Kenny," Fang commanded, "he's not going anywhere until he hears what I have to say... if he knows what's good for him."

The guard dropped Sonic to the ground. Through choked breath, Sonic exclaimed, "what exactly do you have to talk about!"

"Well, I want to make a... negotiation, friend," the villain snickered. "I'm even willing to play another game, if you promise not to cheat this time. This one's going to have more players though, but we can't play just yet."

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked angrily.

"You know the first valley you passed on your way here? Well, I thought it would make a real nice battlefield. So, let's use it! But not yet, we're not ready. You have to wait until next week. Monday, at noon. Then we can fight, okay pal?" the psychopathic weasel prompted.

"What if I don't listen to your rules this time either, and we attack before then?" Sonic asked his enemy.

"I thought you might think about that," Fang answered, "so I got some incentive for you to follow the rules. My men and I captured ten of your soldiers on our way here. If you or any of your other soldiers come anywhere near that valley or near here, I'll kill them all."

"You bastard..." Sonic hissed.

"I know, right?" Fang smiled. "So, here next week at noon, got that? I'll let you go home here soon so you can tell your little friends all about it. You shouldn't really fear the battle though, Sonic. You're a tough guy, like me, but not as interesting. Plus, I'm pretty sure you've got something to live for, don't you?" The weasel quickly snatched Sonic's photo from his pocket. He examined it closely before breaking out into laughter. "A girl, huh? What is she, sixteen? Wow, what a lucky guy, I'd hit her up anytime. You sure she's not out whoring around while you're here on duty?" he joked.

Sonic stood in fury. He quickly threw his fist toward the annoying smirk on the weasel's face. He just about made contact too, until Fang grabbed his wrist.

"Tsk tsk, Sonic," Fang said, mockingly shaking his head, "if you punch me, the blood of ten soldiers will be on your hands. You really want that?" Fang then looked into Sonic's angry eyes and almost showed him respect for his rage. "Here's your picture," he grunted as he threw the photograph on the ground and let go of the hedgehog's wrist.

Sonic stepped back and looked at the weasel in disgust. He knew that, even if he couldn't kill the entire rebel army, killing this guy would be enough for him. After what he had said about Amy, this fool was his number one enemy next to Shadow.

"Well," Fang finished up his insane lecture, "go on and get out of here you crazy son of a bitch! Oh, and tell your father that General "Bulldozer" Stevens will be at the battle. I'm pretty sure he'll be happy to see his old friend!"

Sonic quickly retreated in anger and climbed up the wall, out the way he came. When he made it back down the other side, he saw Espio standing impatiently. "The meeting I found was nothing but a bunch of drunks talking about their lives before the war. What did you find out?" asked the chameleon.

"It's a long story, my friend," Sonic answered solemnly. "I'll explain it to you on the way back to Uru."

"What!" Sonic's father stammered in anger and annoyance. When Sonic and Espio got back to Uru, they assembled a meeting to explain Fang's proposition to the other soldiers. Apparently, his father had not taken the news well. "Why the hell would we wait yet another long week!"

"Because," Sonic said grimly, "he has ten of our soldiers. If they see us anywhere near their base before that time, they'll kill them all." His father leaned forward and put his right hand on his forehead. He then closed his eyes, as if he was deep in thought. This alarmed Sonic. "Father, you're not seriously considering endangering their lives, are you? Ten men, we can't just kill them!"

"Well..." his father groaned. "No, you're right. I suppose we'll just have to train and write for reinforcements until the time comes for battle. Is there any more information you would like to relinquish, son?"

"Yes, father," Sonic answered, "it seems that the "traitor" will be there. General "Bulldozer" Stevens."

Sonic's father clenched his fist in anger as he said, "Damn it... this is much more than we bargained for when we came to destroy a small camp. Perhaps though, this is our chance. If we can take down Stevens, we can show the rebels just what we're made of. Well, there's no time to waste. Simon!" he yelled at a soldier.

"Yes sir!" the soldier answered as any good soldier should.

"I need you to write several letters to Central, Fort Chester, and Fort Arthur asking for reinforcements. Immediately," the hedgehog general commanded.

"Right away, sir!" Simon complied and rushed off to do his work.

"General Havoc!" Sonic's father yelled, gesturing to yet another soldier. "I need you to double training time for the soldiers. No breaks, and I don't care how much they complain."

"As you wish, sir." Havoc replied in his deep tone of voice.

"What am I to do?" Sonic asked his father.

"Sonic, you may rest for now, you have done enough. I do expect you to train hard tomorrow though, are we clear?" his father ordered.

"Yes, yes sir."

Sonic sat in his room, contemplating the battle to come. This was all so sudden, too quick for even his fast mind to think through correctly. He had no idea that he would be in full battle at this time. Yet, that was war. But this war, had destroyed much more to Sonic. He wanted to end it, as soon as possible. No longer had he cared about the lives of the Rebels, they were his enemies now.

Suddenly, a knock was heard on the door of his room. "It's open," Sonic sighed.

Espio opened it and walked in. He had a weak smile on his face, unlike his usual stern expression. "Hey, how are you doing?" he asked quietly.

"Fine, I think," Sonic answered flatly. The truth was that Sonic didn't really know how he felt, besides hate. Hate for all them.

"Well, I just don't want this war to get to you," Espio stated calmly. "I know, it's all insane, but we have to put up with it. Just don't forget what's really important to you," he asked of Sonic. "Here," he continued, drawing something from his pocket. "I found this on the floor of the mess hall. I believe it fell out of your pocket." The chameleon extended the picture of Amy toward Sonic.

"Thanks," Sonic said as he grabbed the photograph from his comrade.

"She's a pretty girl, Sonic," commented Espio.

"I know," Sonic answered happily as he looked over the picture for, at least, the fiftieth time.

"She kind of reminds me of my wife," Espio laughed.

"You're married?" Sonic asked. The two of them then had a decent conversation about their lives outside of the war. It was really calming to Sonic, to have something normal in a time of chaos.

Later that night, Sonic lay in his bed, thinking about many things. Of course, the first thing in his mind was Amy, but it easily drifted to other thoughts. He eventually came to the idea of Shadow, son of the traitor.

_'Why isn't he out here in battle? That coward.' _Sonic thought angrily. He couldn't believe that someone could just take Amy from him that easily. _'He must have kidnapped her,' _he reassured himself in denial. _'I mean, she couldn't want to live with a rebel, right? No, she loves me.'_

Suddenly, his mind then turned to more negative, realistic thoughts, _'but after what I did, how could she love me? Why couldn't I have just disobeyed my father's orders? I'm a man! Why couldn't I just say it to him then? Simple, just 'no father, she must stay," but I couldn't even do that! If anyone in Mobius is a coward, it's me. And now I'm paying for it, but I won't suffer alone! They will pay... in blood.'_

By now, Sonic was even starting to sound evil, even to himself. _'No,'_ he thought, _'they're the evil ones, not me.'_

Sonic spent the next week training vigorously, with little rest. Even his father was impressed with his fighting skills at that point. They had went through several sword fighting sessions and Sonic won at least ninety-five percent of them. Sonic even took the time to study battle strategies from the texts he found at the base. That was what proved that he was really determined, as Sonic rarely read or studied. He was always more into taking action rather than thinking about why he took the actions that he did.

He was also sure to practice his aim, knowing that Fang was an exceptionally good shot. While firing at a still dummy couldn't truthfully simulate a soldier, it seemed to help him. With every explosion in the barrel of the rifle, an explosion of anger seemed to be relieved of him.

The night before the day of the battle, Sonic knelt beside his bed and began a prayer. "Lord," he spoke, "I pray that you grant me strength tomorrow. I know, I'm not usually very holy, but I do seek your assistance. I also ask that you forgive the sins that I shall commit, for there will be many. I shalt kill, and without hesitation. Thank you lord for your understanding and, in your name, amen."

He then lay in bed, in hopes of building energy to commit the very sins that he spoke of. He sword would be red with the blood of his enemies by the end of the next day.


End file.
